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Alabama High School Removes Bathroom Stall Doors To Deter Vaping

FLORENCE, Ala. (CBS Local) — An Alabama high school has taken the extraordinary step of removing the stall doors in some of the boys restrooms to keep kids from vaping in the bathrooms.

The move was taken two weeks ago after a student at Wilson High School in Florence, Alabama was found passed out in a stall after vaping.

Principal Gary Horton says a student is sneaking off to the bathroom to vape every day, so to deter students from taking smoke breaks it was decided to temporarily remove doors off some of the bathroom stalls in the boys’ restroom.

“I removed some of the doors but I never removed all of them,” Horton told Yahoo Lifestyle. “I did this only as a temporary solution two weeks ago. All doors have been replaced.”

“I don’t like it. They take their only private place in the school that they can do their business,” Rachel Munsey, a parent, told WAFF. “Bad vaping problem, then you need spotters in the bathroom. You need someone adult to go in there to make sure there’s not any vaping going on.”

“Me, as a parent, personally, I think that’s a little excessive,” Brandon Campbell, another parent, said. “It’s a little over-excessive. Maybe they need to put a monitor in the hall, like they do. Usually, they have a truancy officer or a police officer at the school. Have them monitor the hallway because a bathroom is for each individual person’s privacy.”

Vaping is a trend sweeping schools nationwide. E-cigarettes, also known as e-cigs, vapes and e-hookahs, have become a major problem.

U.S. health officials have warned people to avoid using e-cigarettes and other vaping devices until they figure out why some users are suffering serious breathing illnesses. Officials have identified about 450 possible cases, including as many as six deaths, in 33 states.